Whatever can I buy my six year old?

[Lookslikethewinneris]

Ds turns six the week before Christmas and I have no idea what to buy him for Christmas or birthday. Octonauts is his current big love but I’m wary of buying too much character related stuff because they go off it so easily. Would welcome any suggestions! Has bike Yoto player etc!

My dc got a lot of use out of a micro scooter sprite at that age. A magic set, a marble run and a stomp rocket were popular too.

Marble run would go down well. Do they take up a lot of space?

Lego, slime, fact books, interactive globe on the list here

He got an interactive globe last year and it is really good - would recommend.

Lego just gets hopelessly mixed up and slime is something I just don’t allow - I know, miserable but makes me feel sick haha!

Playmobil is great and there are loads of different sets.
Another vote for a marble run. Board games are good at that age, UNO, Dobble, Mousetrap, Sinking Sand etc.
Magnetic tiles are fun too, lots of play options.

Would he like this, OP?

https://www.hamleys.com/knex-creation-zone-50-model-building-set

The main problem is he isn’t careful at all with his toys and I think they’d just be lost, otherwise it would be a brilliant suggestion! Magna-tiles are a great idea, he has a small pack but would love more.

You can get ball run kits for the magnetic tiles - combining that idea with the marble run.

Anything for the garden? Swing, trampoline?

Trip to Alton towers and stay in the octonauts themed room

Makedo cardboard construction set (we got the cheaper Amazon version and it seems fine). Can make loads of different creations with cardboard boxes

If you don't already have loads of magnetic tiles... absolutely get more. I genuinely don't think you can ever have enough magnetic tiles. My 4yo and 6yo have hundreds between them now and they still always run out when they get really into building with them.

Randomly, my 6yo really LOVED getting a pencil case full of his own special pens/highlighters/pencils for his 6th birthday. Alongside a special notebook. Not the big gift you're looking for, but it has been lovely for him to have somewhere special to note things down and draw without endless pieces of paper flying about my house... We already had an extensive art/craft cupboard but having his own little set to keep in his room felt very special to him.

My DS was massively into Brio at that age. Solved birthday and Christmas conundrums for a good few years.

My little boy is just about to turn 6 he loves
playmobil (we have police station already which is a big hit and he plays with this with his 9 year old brother too)
vtech marble run is a good one
arts and crafts to do on rainy days too the works have a lot in a moment and it’s 4 for £20
I usually do a big day out too as present too

Another vote for marble run and magnatiles. I prefer the Galt marble run. I bought my nephew a set of ocean themed magnatiles last year - that might pair nicely with some octonaught figures?

Remote control car.

Lego (look on Vinted), hot wheels (get second hand), magna tiles, space kit / science kit / excavation kit, board games, books.

Kapla planks are good - they look like nothing (just little wooden planks) but they’re actually designed for very elaborate constructions, adults like them too. More a thing on mainland Europe than here but a real hit.

This. Always this. https://amzn.eu/d/09eJaJGX

The magnetic tiles collection is definitely something worth building. He might not be excited unwrapping but it’s worth the play value long term.

If he likes Octonauts I’d lean in to a sea creature theme and get collection of plastic sea creatures. I know you said Lego gets muddled but that’s the joy of Lego, they build as per instructions then it all comes apart and gets used creatively to make new things. My Octonaut fan had fun with a Lego shark and a Lego submarine.

Lego is supposed to be all mixed up, that's half the fun! You can buy books with ideas of things to build with a mixed set, or if you enter all the sets you have on the website Rebrickable, it will show you what else you can build.

If he likes Octonauts maybe look at a book with lots of facts and big pictures of different sea creatures. Or look at some space themed things as that might be the next thing he gets into.

Take him to a toy shop "to get some ideas to write a letter to Father Christmas"

Do you have Uno or Top Trumps? Dobble? Those are fun for adults to play as well as children.

@Lookslikethewinneris I came on to post this exact thread looking for ideas for DS who is just turning 6 😅 so thanks for your thread 🙌🏻
Mine has asked for “loads more lego bricks - not sets though mum!” 🤣 and “just surprises” 🫠 which is very helpful!

Agree with others about magnet tiles and Brio. We have a big collection of both and they get used non stop. We have lots of the proper tiles and lots of the “sunny auntie” ones off Amazon too which are also great and work perfectly with the real ones!
And I got a huuuuge bundle of Brio track a couple of years ago on Vinted for about £20 which was amazing! So worth checking there too!

So far DS has some Lego, a few specific HotWheels cars that he’s been eyeing up, and a couple of new Brio components. But I’m completely out of ideas for anything else 😬

i also second the board games suggestion if you don’t already have a collection. We now have a “family games night” at the weekend and it’s my favourite thing. Uno and Dobble are great. DS also like monopoly junior. The absolute favourite in our house at the moment is Qwirkle though - it’s fab ☺️

On the board games theme I would put a word in for Santorini, this is the one we are currently playing a lot. I love it because it has a very simple variant which even a 4yo can play, but it comes with these "God powers" all of which are based on different Greek gods/mythological figures and if you add those in, then it makes the game more varied and it means you can adjust the level of challenge per player, because each "power card" gives that player an advantage. So it stays balanced even when you have people with vastly different abilities playing.

Thanks all, there are some great ideas here.

I think the problem with Lego is that he tends to want quite elaborate designs, asks his dad to build them for him and then forgets / loses them which is OK occasionally but wouldn’t be ideal as a main Christmas or birthday present.

I’ve not been very good on the board game front, he hasn’t really played any. I’ll have to have a look, I remember enjoying them as a child but not looking forward to the strops when he loses!

With toy shops he just literally asks for everything so 😂 or stuff that I know might look snazzy but no real interest in!

I’ll definitely get the marble run and magna tiles.

@Lookslikethewinneris

I was wondering whether a trip to London to visit Hamley's would be feasible, OP?

My thinking is that you would see what he runs over to look at and is excited by and would then know what he would most like to open as a present.

Well, when I do that in Smyths he just gets a bit drunk on excitement and just picks out endless trucks and so on! We aren’t near London but thank you ☺️